en.Wedoany.com Reported - i-80 Gold (NYSE: IAUX | TSX: IAUX) held a cash balance of approximately $513.5 million as of March 31, 2026, following the completion of its recapitalization plan. The plan raised over $1 billion in secured and available capital through approximately $300 million in equity financing, a $250 million royalty financing with Franco-Nevada Corporation, approximately $288 million in convertible senior notes, and a $150 million gold prepayment arrangement with National Bank of Canada and Macquarie Bank. The company has used the proceeds to repay approximately $165 million in legacy debt.
Paul Chawrun, Chief Operating Officer of i-80 Gold, stated that the company has transitioned from the financing phase to the execution phase and, after completing comprehensive due diligence and a competitive process, is now focused on project execution.
With capital secured and construction approvals obtained, the key variables determining whether the company achieves mid-tier producer status include operational throughput at Granite Creek, permitting progress for Phase 2 and Phase 3 assets, and the pace of resource conversion driven by the 2026 drilling program. Among these, water management at the Granite Creek underground mine is the most pressing issue. The mine achieved its 2025 production guidance of 22,977 ounces of gold and produced 8,857 ounces in the first quarter of 2026. However, water inflow into the working areas has strained underground pumping capacity. The company is installing a second expanded water treatment plant, scheduled to commence operations in June 2026, to supplement the underground drainage infrastructure upgrades completed in 2025.
First-quarter 2026 data indicates that mitigation measures are taking effect, with main ramp development progressing on schedule. Granite Creek's 2026 annual production guidance is 30,000 to 40,000 ounces. This infrastructure supports a feasibility study planned for the second quarter of 2026, for which the company has specifically allocated $10 million to $15 million in growth capital.
On the permitting front, both the Cove underground mine and the Granite Creek open-pit project require Environmental Impact Statements through the Bureau of Land Management, with each process expected to take approximately three years. Cove's construction target is 2028, with production commencing in 2029. The Lone Tree mill retrofit requires water rights, water pollution control, and structural permits. The water rights permit target is the second quarter of 2026, all environmental and structural permits are targeted for the second quarter of 2027, mechanical completion is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027, and first gold pour is targeted for the end of December 2027.
For the Mineral Point open-pit mine, the largest asset in the portfolio with 3.4 million ounces of indicated resources and 2.1 million ounces of inferred resources, the pre-feasibility study target is 2027. The company has allocated $50 million from the Franco-Nevada royalty financing for infill drilling, engineering, and early permitting in 2026, aiming to compress the production timeline by one to two years.
In i-80 Gold's asset portfolio, inferred resources total 7.5 million ounces, while measured and indicated categories total 6.5 million ounces. Until infill drilling converts inferred resources to indicated or measured status, the published preliminary economic assessments for each project carry high geological uncertainty regarding their economics. The Archimedes underground mine has inferred resources of 988,000 ounces at a grade of 7.3 grams per tonne of gold, significantly larger than indicated resources of 436,000 ounces at 7.6 grams per tonne. The Cove underground mine has inferred resources of 1.16 million ounces at a grade of 8.9 grams per tonne of gold, significantly larger than indicated resources of 310,000 ounces at 8.2 grams per tonne. Both projects require formal reserve declarations before construction financing can be finalized.
The 2026 drilling program is the primary mechanism to address this issue. Lower Archimedes plans approximately 55,000 meters of drilling across 140 holes, targeting measured and indicated conversion to support a feasibility study by the end of the first quarter of 2027. Mineral Point plans approximately 131,000 meters of drilling to convert inferred resources ahead of the 2027 pre-feasibility study. Upper Archimedes drilling returned intercepts including a grade of 24.6 grams per tonne of gold over 23.6 meters, consistent with the 2025 preliminary economic assessment model. Chawrun stated that the company will seek to convert all inferred resources to measured and indicated resources and complete the pre-feasibility study in early 2027.
The combined after-tax net present value at the preliminary economic assessment level for all five projects totals $4.9 billion, based on a gold price assumption of $3,000 per ounce, while the company's market capitalization is approximately $1.3 billion. This reflects the market's current discount for execution, permitting, and resource conversion risks. As feasibility studies are delivered, the net present value at the preliminary economic assessment stage will be converted to reserve-backed net present value. The commissioning of Lone Tree will eliminate the 55% to 60% drag from third-party processing costs and increase gold recovery rates at Granite Creek, Archimedes, and Cove to approximately 92%. Mineral Point, with an after-tax net present value at the preliminary economic assessment level (gold at $3,000/oz, silver at $35.00/oz) of $2.3 billion, represents the largest re-rating event in the portfolio, but production is targeted for 2030.
The feasibility studies for the Granite Creek and Cove underground mines in the second quarter of 2026 will provide the company's first formal mineral reserve statements. The preliminary economic assessment for the Granite Creek underground mine reports an after-tax net present value at 5% of $155 million (gold at $2,175/oz) and $373 million (gold at $3,000/oz). The preliminary economic assessment for the Cove underground mine is $271 million (gold at $2,175/oz) and $626 million (gold at $3,000/oz). The commissioning of the second water treatment plant at Granite Creek in June 2026 will validate whether the water management plan can sustain the development rate required to achieve the 2026 production guidance. Major construction at the Lone Tree mill will begin after demolition in the second quarter, with retrofit engineering studies confirming a total project cost of $430 million and a nominal processing capacity of approximately 827,800 tonnes per year, with approximately 50% of capital commitments targeted for mid-2026.
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